Redevelopment Underway at Midtown's Melbourne Hotel
- Chris Stritzel
- Sep 19
- 3 min read
If you've been by the intersection of Grand and Lindell recently, you might've seen windows open, or removed, from the 14-story brick building at the intersection's northwest corner. It's the first visible sign of progress on the redevelopment of what was once the Melbourne Hotel and, most recently, Jesuit Hall. The property's address is 3601 Lindell.
Originally unveiled in March of 2021 by Neighborood Properties, the project was originally set to include 169 apartments in the existing 1921 building. The parking lot to the north was to become home to a 14-story, 195-unit building with ground floor retail as part of a later phase. The project was at the center of the then-Mayor Tishaura Jones adminstration's quest for incentive reform. The original incentive ask was for a tax abatement of 95% for 10 years. After vetoing the tax incentive bill, Mayor Jones's staff then worked out a "deal" with the developer for a 10-year, 90% tax abatement (with clawback provisions if the property was sold within 5 years of completion), requiring Neighborhood Properties to move their warehouse into the City from the County, help renovate two small Grand Center Parks, and build some workforce housing on the Northside.
The agreement later proceeded to the LCRA in August 2021 with te new incentive offering being 95% for 10-years on the Melbourne's redevelopment and a 10-year abatement with 5 years at 75% and the remaining 5 at 50% for the new building. The incentive package was approved but the project did not advance to construction.
Neighborhood Properties, which struggled to move any of their projects forward on Northside and owned several Southside properties that were rotting away, eventually sold the Melbourne to Jassen Johnson. Johnson is a prolific Midtown developer that's redefined Locust Street as a creative office and small business hub with residential components being recently introduced to the mix.
In July, permit activity began to finally show up in the form of interior demolition with the permit valued at $350,000. A follow-up building permit application worth $21.65 Million was applied for in Early August, kicking off the redevelopment construction process.
Per Jassen Johnson's "Tower Real Estate Group" listing, the redeveloped building will feature 5050sf of ground floor retail space (marketed as 5 different spaces), a 3600sf rooftop restaurant, and 182 apartments.
The redevelopment will address the last vacant building immedaitely adjacent to St. Louis University and will tick the number of vacant buildings in the neighborhood down further. The redeveloped Melbourne will also mean that people walking on Grand, whether it be students or people attending a show at the Fox or Powell Hall, will no longer pass a vacant building. Besides making the streetscape better, it also means that te neighborhood is getting closer to the point where new construction infill will be the only option for new residential development.
It's not clear if the previously approved tax incentive package was transferred to the new development team or not.
So if you're in the neighborhood, keep an eye out on the Melbourne Hotel as progress is made. Before we know it, this corner will be brighter and livlier as it becomes another piece in the puzzle for Midtown's long-awiated, and well-deserved, revitalization.
